Front-Line Workers in the Global Service Economy

Following three years of field work with front-line retail workers and unionists in New York City and Milan, this book investigates both the lived experiences of salespersons in the 'fast fashion' industry as well as the possibilities of collective action and structured forms of resistance to these global trends.

Giovanna Fullin is an Associate Professor of Economic Sociology at the Department of Sociology and Social Research at University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy.

Introduction 1. Macro Trends and Micro Features of Retail Work 2. Two Different Institutional Settings 3. Who Are Mass Fashion Workers and What Do They Do? 4. Do Institutions Matter in Workers' Lived Experiences? 5. Working with Customers 6. Representing Retail Work, Anti-Union Strategies, and Worker Centers 7. Conclusions